Colorado: Rocky Mountain National Park, Aspen and the Durango and Silverton train

1. Day 1: Denver to Estes Park

   Denver International Airport to Estes Park

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Estes Park
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Denver International Airport (DEN), where your See Sight Tours guide meets the group at a set pick-up time in the early afternoon; the exact time and the latest arrival that makes it are confirmed with your final itinerary. If you would rather land the day before, book a Denver hotel and we collect you at the airport. From the plains we drive about an hour and three quarters north-west, past Boulder and up the North St Vrain valley from Lyons to Estes Park, the town at the eastern gate of Rocky Mountain National Park, at about 2,290 m. Arriving this high, the first evening is kept gentle: check in, take a short walk along the Riverwalk in the town centre, and drink more water than you think you need. In the evening we sit down together for a welcome dinner and a briefing on the week, the altitude and the weather.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Denver International Airport (DEN)
   • Drive to Estes Park with your guide
   • Welcome briefing and welcome dinner

   Free time: Free time in Estes Park before dinner

   Activity: Estes Park sits at about 2,290 m. Take the first evening easy.

2. Day 2: Trail Ridge Road and Bear Lake

   Estes Park over Trail Ridge Road to the Alpine Visitor Center, back to Estes Park, then the Bear Lake corridor

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Estes Park
   Day 2 details

   We enter Rocky Mountain National Park early, when elk graze in the meadows of Moraine Park and Horseshoe Park and the road is quiet. Trail Ridge Road climbs above the treeline to its high point of about 3,713 m, the highest stretch of continuous paved road in any US national park. We stop at Many Parks Curve and the Forest Canyon Overlook, then walk the short Tundra Communities Trail among alpine flowers before reaching the Alpine Visitor Center. We are back down before the usual afternoon storms, with lunch in Estes Park on your own. In the afternoon we drive Bear Lake Road on the group's timed entry and walk from Bear Lake to Nymph Lake and Dream Lake, with Hallett Peak above the water. The evening is free in town.

   Included

   • Rocky Mountain National Park entry and timed entry reservation
   • Trail Ridge Road with your guide: Many Parks Curve, Forest Canyon Overlook, the Tundra Communities Trail and the Alpine Visitor Center
   • Bear Lake, Nymph Lake and Dream Lake on foot

   Easier option: Walk the flat loop around Bear Lake, about 1 km, and wait at the lakeshore while others go on.

   More active option: Carry on past Dream Lake to Emerald Lake, about 5.8 km return from the trailhead with about 185 m of climbing.

   Free time: Lunch and evening free in Estes Park

   Activity: The tundra walk is at about 3,650 m and short but breathless; walk slowly.

   

3. Day 3: Over Independence Pass to Aspen

   Estes Park on the Peak to Peak Highway to I-70, Leadville, then Independence Pass to Aspen

   • Drive about 5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Aspen
   Day 3 details

   This is the longest drive on the trip, about 320 km and five hours at the wheel, because the mountains between the park and Aspen have no shorter summer road; we break it into three parts. First the Peak to Peak Highway south along the foothills to I-70, then west through the Eisenhower Tunnel under the Continental Divide. Lunch is a sit-down meal of about an hour and a quarter in Leadville, roughly halfway, an old silver-mining town at about 3,094 m with a long main street of Victorian brick. In the afternoon we pass the Twin Lakes and climb Highway 82 to Independence Pass, at about 3,687 m on the Divide, where a short paved path leads to views over the Sawatch Range. From the summit it is a winding descent beside the Roaring Fork River into Aspen, where we stay two nights. Arrive in the late afternoon with the evening free in town.

   Included

   • Peak to Peak Highway and the Eisenhower Tunnel
   • Sit-down lunch in Leadville
   • Twin Lakes viewpoint
   • Independence Pass summit walk

   Free time: Evening free in Aspen

   Activity: About five hours of driving, broken by a long lunch and several stops. Independence Pass is high and windy; bring a warm layer.

   

4. Day 4: The Maroon Bells

   Aspen to Aspen Highlands, then the shuttle to Maroon Lake and back

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Aspen
   Day 4 details

   We take one of the early shuttle buses from Aspen Highlands up Maroon Creek Road, which is closed to most private cars in daytime during the season, so the valley stays quiet. At Maroon Lake, at about 2,900 m, the two peaks of the Maroon Bells, both over 4,200 m, rise straight from the end of the valley, their dark red rock reflected in the water when the morning is still. The easy walk is the Maroon Lake Scenic Trail along the shore and up through the aspens. Those who want more climb to Crater Lake, right under the peaks. We return to Aspen by lunchtime. The afternoon and evening are yours: ride the Silver Queen Gondola up Aspen Mountain, walk the John Denver Sanctuary by the river, or sit on a terrace in the town centre.

   Included

   • Maroon Bells shuttle reservation from Aspen Highlands
   • Maroon Lake with your guide
   • The Maroon Lake Scenic Trail

   Optional experiences

   • Silver Queen Gondola up Aspen Mountain

   Easier option: Stay by Maroon Lake on the scenic trail, about 2 km on gentle ground.

   More active option: Climb to Crater Lake under the Maroon Bells, about 5.8 km return with about 200 m of climbing.

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free in Aspen

   

5. Day 5: McClure Pass, the Black Canyon and Ouray

   Aspen over McClure Pass to Delta and Montrose, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, then Ridgway and Ouray

   • Drive about 4.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Ouray
   Day 5 details

   We leave Aspen down the Roaring Fork Valley to Carbondale, then take Highway 133 over McClure Pass, through aspen forest and past the ranching town of Paonia among its orchards. From Delta we drive to Montrose for a sit-down lunch, then up to the South Rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. The canyon is narrow and deep enough that parts of its walls get only minutes of sun a day; we walk out to Gunnison Point and the Painted Wall viewpoint, where the cliff drops about 700 m to the river. Late in the afternoon we drive south through Ridgway into Ouray, a Victorian mining town at about 2,350 m, boxed in by peaks. Before dinner, soak in the Ouray Hot Springs Pool or walk to Box Canyon Falls. About four and a half hours of driving today, a little over our usual cap because the Black Canyon sits between the two towns; lunch in Montrose and the rim walks break it up.

   Included

   • McClure Pass
   • Sit-down lunch in Montrose
   • Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park entry: Gunnison Point and the Painted Wall
   • Ouray Hot Springs Pool entry

   Optional experiences

   • Box Canyon Falls, a short walk from town

   Free time: Evening free in Ouray

   Activity: The Black Canyon viewpoints are short walks on rim trails with fenced overlooks.

   

6. Day 6: The Million Dollar Highway and the train to Durango

   Ouray over Red Mountain Pass to Silverton by van, then the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad to Durango

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Durango
   Day 6 details

   A short morning drive on the Million Dollar Highway, US 550, which climbs out of Ouray on ledges cut into the Uncompahgre Gorge and crosses Red Mountain Pass at about 3,358 m, past old mine buildings on slopes stained red and orange. We stop at the viewpoints and are in Silverton by late morning, a former mining town of about 600 people at the head of the Animas River. Walk Greene Street and Blair Street and have a sit-down lunch before the afternoon train. The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad has run this line since 1882; it takes about three and a half hours to follow the Animas River down its gorge, high on narrow ledges, into Durango. We ride it one way, down only. The van takes your bags ahead, so you step off the train and walk to the hotel. Evening free in Durango.

   Included

   • The Million Dollar Highway and Red Mountain Pass with your guide
   • Silverton on foot and a sit-down lunch
   • Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad from Silverton to Durango
   • Luggage taken ahead by van

   Free time: Evening free in Durango

   Activity: Open-sided cars can be cold and sooty; bring a layer and sunglasses.

   

7. Day 7: Wolf Creek Pass to the Great Sand Dunes

   Durango to Pagosa Springs, over Wolf Creek Pass to the San Luis Valley, then Great Sand Dunes National Park

   • Drive about 4 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Great Sand Dunes
   Day 7 details

   We leave Durango after breakfast and drive east on US 160 to Pagosa Springs, where the San Juan River runs past steaming hot-spring pools, then climb to Wolf Creek Pass on the Continental Divide at about 3,307 m. Down the other side the road follows the Rio Grande into the San Luis Valley, wide and flat, ringed by mountains. Lunch is a sit-down meal in Alamosa, the valley's main town, and we check in before driving out to Great Sand Dunes National Park in the late afternoon, when the sand has started to cool after the summer midday, which can be too hot to walk on. The dunes, the tallest in North America, rise to about 230 m in front of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. We walk out across Medano Creek, which flows in early summer and is often dry by July, and climb onto the dune ridges for sunset. About four hours and 300 km of driving, with stops at Wolf Creek Pass and lunch in Alamosa breaking it up.

   Included

   • Wolf Creek Pass
   • Sit-down lunch in Alamosa
   • Great Sand Dunes National Park entry
   • Sunset walk on the dunes with your guide

   Easier option: Stay on the flat sand by Medano Creek and watch the light change on the dunes from below.

   More active option: Climb to High Dune on the first ridge, about 4 km return in soft sand with about 210 m of climbing.

   Activity: Walking in soft sand is hard work at about 2,500 m. Bring closed shoes, water and a headlamp for the walk back.

   

8. Day 8: Dune sunrise and back to Denver

   Great Sand Dunes to Walsenburg and north on I-25 to Denver International Airport

   • Drive about 4.5 h
   • Breakfast
   Day 8 details

   For those who want it, an early walk onto the dunes at sunrise, when the sand is cool, the ridges are sharp with shadow and the valley is still. After breakfast we leave the San Luis Valley over North La Veta Pass and drop to Walsenburg and the plains, then head north on I-25 along the Front Range, past Pueblo and Colorado Springs, with Pikes Peak to the west. The drive is about 410 km and four and a half hours of driving, slightly over our usual cap because the dunes have no shorter road to Denver; we break it with a stop for coffee and a lunch stop; lunch today is not included. We reach Denver International Airport in the early afternoon, and your guide sees you to the terminal before saying goodbye. Book a flight leaving after about 4 pm.

   Included

   • Sunrise walk on the Great Sand Dunes
   • Drive to Denver with your guide
   • Drop-off at Denver International Airport (DEN)

   Easier option: Skip the sunrise walk and watch from the edge of the dunes.

   Activity: Book a flight leaving Denver after about 4 pm.

   

Wildlife and weather: June can still have snow at the passes and Medano Creek running at the dunes; July and August are warmest with afternoon storms; September brings golden aspens late in the month and elk starting their rut in Rocky Mountain National Park.

• Estes Park2 nights
• Aspen2 nights
• Ouray1 night
• Durango1 night
• Great Sand Dunes1 night